Patna: Bihar government on Monday approved the Private Universities Bill to clear the decks for setting up private institutions for higher education.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, sources said.

Under the provisions of the proposed legislation, a private university could be set up over five acres land in the municipal area, while the requirement of land has been fixedat 10 acre in non-municipal areas, they said.

In another significant decision, the state government sanctioned the Ganga Expressway project in the state capital between Digha to Kachchi Dargah areas with an estimated cost of Rs 3,160 crore, the sources said.

The Ganga Expressway project will be constructed on the PPP mode in three years and the state government will seek Rs 2,000 crore loan from the public sector lender HUDCO, they said.

The state government also approved the Bihar sports association registration, affiliation and regulation act, 2013 and also granted sanction to amendment in the Bihar Cooperative Societies Act, 1935 to pave the way for 50 per cent seats in cooperative bodies to the women.